As always we need to send a HUGE shout out to the great group of girls who keep us readable: AWayWithWords, EdwardsFirstKiss, and LaPumkle, thank you so much for all you three amazing ladies do. All mistakes found in this post are ours, and do not reflect the wonderful ladies listed above.


Parallel Parenting

Chapter 6

EPOV

I arrive at Bella's place at a quarter past seven on Thursday. As I get out of the car, I see Jake. After letting Cordie out also, I walk over to him.

"Hi, Jake," I say and he turns looking at me.

"Edward," he says sounding surprised, his eyes move from me to Cordie? "Kassie?" He stutters but shakes his head. "No, not Kassie, but very close. Sorry your daughter looks a lot like my new tenant's daughter."

"Kassie's my twin," Cordie tells him, making him look at me again only this time, his face has a harder look to it.

"It's a long story, Jake. Bella and I are trying to figure out what happened ourselves."

Jake seems to pick up my meaning and nods at me.

"Cordie! Jakey!" Kassie yells loudly and I turn to see her as she runs into Cordie arms. "Jakey, have you met my twin Cordie yet?" Kassie asks full on hyper and loud.

"I was just meeting her," he says softly looking between the girls. "You'll have to remind me to tell you one of the stories from my people that I think is very fitting for you two."

"Can you tell us now?" Kassie asks as Cordie nods at him eager to hear it, too.

"I would but you three girls have school," he says and I realize that Bella has joined us.

"Yes, and we should get going," Bella says sounding happy. "We'll talk to you later, Jake," she carries on giving him a smile.

"Come on, girls," I say, giving Jake a wave as I lead all three to my car.

"How was your night?" I ask Bella after I start to drive.

"It was fine," she replies with a smile. "Yours?"

I smile and look in my rear view mirror, checking the girls who are having a thumb war.

"It was fine, too, thank you. After we get to the school and before I leave, could we speak for a moment?"

Bella nods at me, and I keep driving. I pull up at the school and walk in with them to Bella's classroom. The girls walk in take their seats, and begin talking. Bella motions to the hallway outside the room, and I follow.

"My father said he could meet us at my place tonight instead of tomorrow. So he will be there when we get home from school. He said he'll do the test today and take it in for us. He said he will mark it as urgent, so it will be run ASAP. He said at most, we will have the results no later than next Tuesday, but likely sooner. I know you already signed the release for him to look at Kassie's medical records, and he mentioned comparing them to Cordie's. I thought that maybe we should read the results together, if that's okay with you?"

Bella nods at me again. "Yeah, I think that would be nice if we did it together." Bella looks into the classroom, and my eyes follow.

Cordie and Kassie are still smiling and laughing with each other.

"Looking at them, it's hard to believe they only met a few days ago; they look as if they have been in each others lives, the whole time. It still feels strange that they're so close."

I nod though she's not even looking in my direction.

"I'm still waiting for Kassie to be upset, angry, anything, something else, other than being this happy." She turns to look at me and I nod at her.

"I am the same. I keep expecting Cordie to ask me why, and to cry, too. However, they seem to be handling it amazingly. My father will have a list for us to look over tonight, so we'll have a therapist for them to talk to, if needed. As soon as we pick one, we'll call and get an appointment right way." I stop, frowning, as I start to wonder what kind of insurance she has.

"You have medical insurance now that you're working full-time, right, or are you both still on Medicaid?"

Bella turns looking at me hotly and I hold up my hand.

"I am only asking so I can make sure my dad adds a list of therapists who take patients with that type of insurance."

"You know, just when I think you're truly a nice guy you have to act like a F'ing D-I-C-K."

I gulp knowing that I have clearly upset her.

"For your ignorant attitude and attention, I had my first part-time job when I was fifteen. When I was going to college online, I had a full-time job and paid for our medical insurance myself. For the record, it's the same medical insurance which she's had since she came into my parents' home and life. Sure, I didn't get paid a great amount of wages, but I have been using the money from my parents' life insurance to make sure she doesn't go without anything—ever. I resent your preconceived notion that we are—or ever were—living off the state."

"Bella I am—"

"Just don't, Edward," she interrupts looking upset. "You should go. I have to get to work."

She moves away from me, and I hiss out a silent "fuck."

~PP~

My workday goes by fast, but I keep replaying the last conversation Bella and I had over in my head. I know I was wrong to assume that she was on Medicaid, but she didn't have to get so upset over it.

I arrive at the school, just as Alice arrives to pick up Colton. "Hi, Sis," I say giving her a hug. "How are you?" I ask.

"I am good," she says looking rather happy. "How are things with Bella and Kassie?"

"They're good," I say as I pull at my hair.

"What did you do now, Edward?"

I just look at her and sigh. "We sort of had a falling out again this morning."

Alice crosses her arms as she stares up at me.

"It wasn't my entire fault," I tell her, "don't worry, I will make it up to her."

"You had better. I want Kassie and her to come to the next girlie day I have with my niece. They should be included in on our next pampering day. Then I can take them shopping for new clothes, so they'll fit in at the Autumn Ball."

"Alice," I say in a warning tone.

"Come on, I own my own beauty shop. The pampering thing is easy breezy and free."

I just roll my eyes.

"Just don't push your choices on others, Alice, it's not nice."

She hums but as the children start to make their way out she stays silent.

"There's Bella, I am going to go and ask her." Alice walks off and I chuckle over the fact she's doing the same walking wiggle thing that Cordie does when she wants to run, but stops herself.

"Bella, Kassie, my family has an Autumn Ball in late October, and I would like to invite you both. I'd also like you shop with me for new dresses and shoes—"

"Oh no, I don't wear dresses!" Kassie interrupts with a shake of her head. "And by shoes you mean heels; my mom will fall flat on her face," Kassie laughs making Bella narrow her eyes at her.

"It was one time, Kassie, and someone bumped into me."

"You wore a dress at my wedding," Emmett says appearing out of nowhere.

"Yes, but that was special, and I got yelled at when I took it off so I could play baseball, and run the bases."

Alice just looks at Kassie open-mouthed. "You need to wear a dress; it's a formal party," she says sounding like she is in shock.

"Alice, thank you, and we'd be happy to come along on a shopping trip, but Kassie and I have our own tastes in clothing." Bella uses a tone that clearly tells Alice she will not budge.

"Okay, but it has to be formal for the Autumn Ball, and I still want to shop with you. I can, right?"

"Yes, Alice, we'd be happy to go formal dress shopping with you," Bella says.

"Yay, and we can invite Rose, she loves fancy dresses, and getting my mom and me to have our nails done." Kassie shakes her fingers, and my eyes move from her to Bella, who seems to be looking at anyone but me.

"Bella, if your kids are all picked up, you can get your things and take off," Emmett says to her and she nods at him.

"Can you stay with the girls for two minutes?" I ask Alice who nods. I run after Bella just catching her as she was walks into her classroom.

"I'm sorry," she says.

I gulp and just look at Bella. "You took the words right out of my mouth. I was just about to say that to you," I tell her.

Bella sighs and looks at me for the first time since this morning. "I'm not sure why I got so upset with you this morning. I guess I just felt as if you were judging me," she gives me a small smile. "I've had a lot of people looking at me as if I'm on welfare. I think a lot of people assume I am a teen mom because I am young. I have always worked hard, and so did my parents. I just feel like some people are judging me unfairly and make assumptions about how Kassie became my child."

I nod at her. "I am sorry that I was yet again assuming something about you."

"Bella, Edward," I turn to see Emmett standing at the door. "Sorry to interrupt. Bella, I need to know if Kassie's going to the after school club starting next week?"

"Yes," she nods at him.

"Edward, Cordie is attending, too, correct?"

"Yes, I'll be picking her up at just after four, every day," I say.

"Okay," he says with a smile, "see you tomorrow morning, Bella." Emmett walks out and I turn back to Bella.

"Well, it looks like they are going to get to spend more time together," I say.

"Why is Cordie going to the after school program?" she asks.

"Well, I normally don't finish my day until four, but I took a day off, and left early this week since it was her first week of school."

"Yeah, I normally get out at four, but for the first week, Emmett agreed to let me slide out early," Bella says. "You know on Fridays, if you want, I could take Cordie home with us and you can pick her up from my house? Every Friday, I'll be getting out with the kids at the normal time. The only teachers who have to stay are those in charge of the after school program."

I grin smiling a little at her. "Sure, that sounds like a great plan, and I get off early every other Wednesday so I could do the same on those days?"

Bella nods.

"Are you ready to leave?" I ask.

"Yes," she says as she walks to me.

I know there's still some tension between Bella and me, but I feel as if we have moved past this morning's upset.

~P.P~

"So then, I'll be the first national league female baseball player," I hear Kassie say as we reach the main door of the school.

"Don't you want to do something more girly?" Alice asks her.

"Why isn't baseball a girl thing?" Kassie counters.

"Well, you get all sweaty and dirty?"

"I love getting dirty; my mom says it shows I had lots of fun," Kassie counters.

"Yeah, I agree," Colton yells.

"Maybe you can teach me?" Cordie asks quietly. I know she is worried that Alice will freak out, so I intercede immediately.

"You want to be a baseball player, Kassie?" I ask loudly, drawing attention away from Cordie.

"Yeah," she says with enthusiasm.

"Well, you can do, and play anything you want to," I say patting Cordie's back, so she will know I am talking about her, too. "You know what … my family owns a box at Wrigley Field. When the Cubs play at home next weekend, we should all go."

Kassie just looks at me open-mouthed, and suddenly she jumps into my arms.

"Yes, please, Teddy, can we?" she yells.

My eyes move to Cordie hoping she's not jealous about the affection Kassie is showing me. But she is just happily looking at me as she stands holding Bella's hand.

I let Kassie go with a wink. "Colton, Alice," I say turning to them only to find Alice looking at me with what looks like tears pooling in her eyes. "We'll see you tomorrow; have a great night."

The girls ride with me, and Bella follows behind in her car to my house.

~PP~

The girls sit on the couch as my father looks at them. "Okay, girls, I need to swipe this on the inside of your cheek," he says sounding more like a doctor as he shows them each a long cotton swab.

Cordie, who's used to my dad, opens her mouth, and he takes her sample first. He puts it in a glass tube and makes sure it is marked correctly with her name. Kassie seems to be puzzled but follows what Cordie did.

"Can we go play now, Dad?" Cordie asks, while my father writes on Kassie's tube.

"Yes," I say knowing this will give us some time to talk with my father.

"They really look alike, and I would say that there's a high chance they are twins. I'm not just going by the fact they look alike, but by their medical information as well."

Bella had granted my father access to Kassie's medical files yesterday, and it sounds as if he's been reading them. "Apart from Kassie's injuries from the car crash—"

"She was in the car crash, too?" I interrupt.

Bella turns and looks at me, just giving me a nod.

"What were her injuries?" I ask feeling worried for my CeeCee.

"She was mostly just bruised, but she was cut badly on her shoulder. Her seat broke and stabbed into her shoulder." Bella says as I look at her. "The investigator said it was likely a faulty car seat." Bella seems to shake her head as if she is in disbelief of it.

"I'm sorry," I tell her as my hand rests on top of her own.

"Besides the injuries in the car accident, both Cordie's and Kassie's medical records are nearly identical. Even when they were born, everything Cordie went through Kassie did, too."

I look at the side of Bella's face, and I know just how much that cost. I also know there's no way medical insurance would've paid for it. Which means her parents must have dug up money from wherever they could to pay for Kassie's care.

"How did they get separated?" Bella asks.

"Well, they were both transferred from a small town for care. From what I've been able to ascertain from one child, I'm guessing Cordie and Kassie were born at home. We know Cordie was left at a fire station in Dixon, Illinois. When she was taken to a small town hospital, they were able to see that she needed to be in the NICU. The closest place that had an available bed was Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital. When Cordie was left, there was only one baby. Looking at Kassie's hospital records, she was brought to a small town hospital in North Dakota, near the Montana border, the next evening. There is a wonderful children's hospital in North Dakota, but not at the small hospital where the baby was initially left, so Kassie would have been transferred. From looking into it the NICU was full, and they would have to find another hospital. The on call doctor was from Oregon, and paid out of his own pocket for her to be transferred to Doernbecher Children's Hospital at Oregon Health and Science University. Both girls had to be weaned off of drugs. Both had issues with size and weight as well. What we don't know is how they ended up so far apart."

"Why would someone do that?"

My father shakes his head. "I am still digging into that, but I think the information I have found so far is a good start. I know the mother abandoned Cordie first. I don't know if she had already given birth to Kassie or not. I can only assume the mother was traveling. Either Kassie was born later, or she had her and thought she was okay, and then she took a turn for the worse."

"Wouldn't the authorities put one and one together and figured out they were sisters?" Bella asks and my dad shakes his head. "Not only were states between the locations, but every twenty-five minutes a baby is born with withdrawal symptoms in the United States."

"What?" Bella and I say together. "There's really that many?" Bella carries on sounding sad and upset about this information.

"Sadly, there are, and those are only the ones who are reported," my father responds. "I am still investigating how some discrepancies were made, like the eye color being mixed up in both of the adoption cases. It seems highly unlikely that the same mistake would be on both girls' paperwork. I will keep you both informed as I find more information."

I nod at him. "This is the list—the top three therapists in my professional opinion," he says as he hands Bella the list. "It was really good to meet you and your daughter, and I look forward to having a better chat with you Saturday at Alice's party."

"I'm looking forward to talking with you, too," Bella says.

"Have a good night," he tells us both.

"Thanks for everything, Dad," I say and remain sitting with Bella, knowing my father would see himself out.

"So, how are we going to go about picking a therapist?"

"Well, your Dad has only listed three, so I would like to see if we can meet with each of them first, at least once. We can see who we like best and rank them in order of our preferences. If we agree on one, we will make an appointment for the girls to make sure they click with the therapist. If we don't agree, we see both of our favorites with the girls and see which one they are the most comfortable with. How does that sound?"

I can't help but grin. "That's exactly how I would go about it."

Bella smiles a little and nods at me. "Can I ask a personal question?"

"Of course, I think we are past personal information exchange, being the situation we are in."

"Okay, do you have a significant other or woman in your life?"

My smirk gets larger as I just look at her but she rolls her eyes at me. "Edward, I am not hitting on you, I just want to know if there will be a woman that will be around a lot. I want to know the people that Kassie will have interactions with."

"There's no one, but you bring up a valid point. I think maybe we should both agree that we meet anyone that comes into our lives before the girls do. What do you think?"

"I agree, but for the record I haven't had a boyfriend in almost four years."

I keep looking at her.

"I was seeing someone when my parents passed away. When I moved back home, he stayed in college; we were still a couple, but I was no longer at school. I was grieving, and not communicating with him, and he found his own comfort in other girls." Bella stops and to my surprise laughs. "He forgot about Rose being my friend. When she found out he was seeing other women, she went ape shit on his ass on my behalf."

"I'm sorry," I say. One thing I have never understood is how a person can cheat on someone they supposedly love. If you cheat, you don't truly love the other person, simple as that.

Bella shrugs. "It's okay; I fell out of love with him." She pulls her brows in together. "I was too busy grieving and raising a child to think about him, anyway. I went weeks without talking to him. At first he would call me, but I think my lack of response didn't help matters. It is what it is, and clearly it was for the best."

"I am still sorry," I repeat knowing that it still must have hurt her on some level.

Bella clears her throat, and by the look on her face I would say she doesn't like feeling vulnerable. "So what about you; when was the last time you dated?"

"I have not been in a serious relationship in almost ten years. I have, however, gone on a few dates here and there, but nothing that has lasted for more than two months." I stop and shrug. "Since I've become a father, my dating has decreased even more. I normally will have two dates with someone before bringing them around Cordie. I end things immediately if she doesn't like them."

"And so far she's never taken a liking to anyone you've had her meet?" Bella asks with a sly grin, and I give her a nod. "Sly way to get out of dating, Edward."

"Maybe …" I stop and rub my face. I move my hands to my hair and pull on it a little. "I just never had that feeling; that, 'oh, my, God, I must have this woman in my life' feeling."

"You should try batting for the other team then, maybe that's your issue."

I just look at her and she chuckles, shaking her head.

"You want the whole wow factor; maybe you haven't found it because you've been searching in the wrong places," she laughs and I give her a look of disbelief. "Okay, I'm kidding. I understand what you're saying. I also must admit I'd like to feel that as well. To just be able to look at someone and know that my heart would be safe with them. To be able to see myself old and gray in their arms, and not care that they'd be the last person I ever loved."

I smile, nodding at her, happy that she gets where I am coming from.

"What about sex, though?" she asks.

"Sex?" I repeat.

"You know—it's where two people—or in certain kinky realms of life, more than two—engage together to do the horizontal mambo …" When I don't say anything she carries on. "You know, the rumpy pump, the meeting of two sweaty bod—"

I cover her mouth and snort a little. "I know what sex is, and it's been five years."

"Five?" she gasps.

"Yes, five. Sixty months. One-thousand-eight-hundred-twenty-five days. Do you want it in hours?"

She shakes her head at me. "What about …" Bella waves her hand in an age old motion.

"Yes, I do masturbate, don't you?"

Bella blushes a little but nods at me. "Yes, I have some toys that I lock away from small people. I do it a healthy four times a week?" Bella raises her brow at me.

"Twice a day," I admit quietly. At least I beat her in the number of times I masturbate each week.

"What about sex dolls; they have newer ones that are very … lifelike?"

I shake my head and screw up my face. "To be honest," I turn and look at the door. When I see the coast is clear, I drop my voice a little more. "No, they feel too real, and I … when I am with a girl I would like for them to …" I move so that I can whisper into her ear, "Fuck me back."

"Don't you miss sex?" Bella asks me slowly and I nod at her.

"Yeah," again I start to pull at my hair. "I also really miss just holding someone afterwards."

"Me, too," her eyes flicker to the door and then back to me. "I love her dearly, and I know that I did the right thing in keeping her. There are, however, times I feel that I gave that up—being with someone intimately—for her. I don't regret it, but I sometimes miss feeling loved that way. I miss someone making me feel – that feeling you get when you're making love to someone you feel deeply for." Bella clears her throat and stands up. "I'm gonna go play with the girls now, and you have dinner to make."

"I do, and since the girls have had chicken the last two nights, would you like a meat-free night: fish or pork?"

Bella looks at me and nods. "Pork. Kassie likes meat, if you're willing, anyway."

"Oh, Miss Swan, I am more than willing."

~PP~

Bella POV

When I get to Cordie's playroom, I find both girls whispering and giggling. "What are you two planning?" I ask making them jump apart.

My eyes go to Kassie seeing that she has a look of mischief about her. "Hey, Mom," she says with a big smile.

I just hum a little; feel even surer that she and Cordie are up to no good. I quickly decide to wait it out; they will either slip up, or they will bring me in on their plans.

"What are we playing, girls?" I ask with a smile.

"Here," Cordie says handing me a costume. I look at it and then back at her.

"Just dress-up, Mommy, so we can play make believe."

I shrug my shoulders and move to the corner that has a curtain hanging up. I pull it around me and get changed into the old-fashioned dress that Cordie gave me.

"This is a custom-made dress, isn't it?" I ask as I come out.

"Yes. Aunty Alice bought it for me. She told me that it was one in a million, and I would grow into it."

"I think she's one in a million," I mutter.

"So, what are we playing, that I need to wear this for?"

"You're going to be Princess Belle," Kassie chuckles.

"But this dress is blue, and Belle's dress is yellow," I say pulling at the dress, both girls shrug.

"It looks like a princess dress," Kassie says.

"Who are you two going to be?" I ask.

"I am Cogsworth," Kassie says as she holds up the clock that is around her neck, I also note that she is dressed like a butler.

"I am Lumiere," Cordie quickly adds, and I see that she has a butler outfit on with fake candles on a string around her neck.

"Who's going to be the beast?" I ask adding a growl.

"Daddy, of course," Cordie says.

"Yeah, he does have a temper, and is ghastly looking," I reply with a grin.

The girls and I play pretend for almost thirty minutes before I hear a chuckle.

I turn to see a smiling Edward standing at the door.

"Oh, no, it's the beast," I mutter. "He must have come to ruin our fun," I carry on as he raises his eyebrow almost challenging me.

"Beast?" he asks as the girls chuckle on the floor.

"Yes, master, she is the girl who came to break the spell," Cordie says in an upbeat tone.

"What spell?" he asks.

"The spell that turned you into a beast," I say giving him a look, asking if he´s stupid.

"I am not a beast; I am too dashingly handsome to be a beast." Edward even turns to look in the mirror that hangs on the wall.

"Oh, he must be Gaston then," I tell the girls as he admires himself. Edward turns striking a pose showing off his biceps.

"Yay, Daddy has a Gaston outfit. Go put it on and come play, Daddy."

Both Cordie and Kassie run up to him and pull him into the room. "You can be Gaston, who saves Princess Bell from the mean beast."

"Ah … I thought Gaston didn't get the princess in the end. It can't be an unhappy story," Edward stutters.

"We can change it, Daddy, this is just pretend."

Edward looks at me and I wave at him to the changing area. I stand with the girls waiting on Edward to get changed.

"So, who's going to be the beast?" I ask.

"It's a shame we don't have a dog," Kassie mutters.

"Daddy could be both," Cordie says. "The witch could've split him in two. The beast has a nice but ugly side, and Gaston is his mean, but good looking side."

I pull my brow in a little as Cordie has made a great point. If the beast had been nicer from the beginning it would have made a better story. Then everyone could see the true beauty within the beast. I'm just not sure about the whole splitting him in two parts, but I wonder where she has gotten that idea from.

"That's a good thought, Deedee, what made you think of it?"

"Granny always said to look beyond someone's beauty, and she says that—" She stops and taps her lip with her finger. "Those sometimes pretty girls are very ugly inside."

"Okay, so am I here to slay the beast?" Edward asks.

My head turns to him, and I feel my mouth drop. He looks very dashing in his costume, and my eyes want to run all over his body, which he is showing off nicely.

"Bella?" I hear him ask and I look to see his smirk. He's clearly enjoying the fact that I am ogling him.

"Are we going to play?" I ask.

Edward nods at me, and we start to play the make believe game again.

~PP~

Edward and I both laugh as we dance around the room while the girls sing the Beauty and the Beast song that Mrs. Potts sings in the movie. It's a little muddled here and there, but they are doing their best.

"Dinner should be ready to plate up, now," he says into my ear. "I say we keep the clothes on, and when they get to the end of the song we go eat like—"

"They've sung the last line of the song three times now, you know," I tell him interrupting.

Edward laughs as he places his head on my shoulder "Oh, I know, but when they stop, we can just keep these clothes on and eat our dinner."

I nod at him, and Edward dips me. He keeps a hold of my hand and winks. "Seems as though the dancing skills go to me?"

I shake my head as he pulls me up. "No, this is not a dance off, we'll do that later."

"Dinner time, girls," Edward says before they can start another chorus.

They smile and hold hands walking out.

"They really are enjoying their time together, aren't they?" Edward says.

"Yeah," I reply, still feeling like something is up with the two of them.

Edward gets to the kitchen, and we both wash our hands. I pour our drinks while Edward plates up the food.

Cordie and Kassie come in and take a seat next to each other, and I walk around taking my seat next to Edward. Once we are all sitting, Edward smiles at me.

I take a large forkful of the pork stew, and hum. "This is really good, Edward," I tell him making him smile. "I still think my dinner last night was better though," I smirk.

"It was." Edward to my surprise agrees. "But I have only been cooking home-cooked meals for five years."

I nod impressed, and my eyes go to both Cordie and Kassie who are whispering to each other.

"What did you two eat for dinner before that?"

"My mom cooked for us," he admits.

I chuckle shaking my head at him, but he winks at me and then looks at the girls.

"So, Princess, how is school going?"

"It's great, Daddy, I have the best teacher in the whole world," she says before looking at me.

"What about you, CeeCee?" Edward asks Kassie and I smile that he is including her.

"It's fun, but I still want to join one of the sports teams." She huffs.

"You're not allowed to play sports?" Edward asks making me groan.

"No, can you believe it?" she says and I look at Edward who is looking at me worried.

"She's too young, and she has to wait another four years to play school-sanctioned sports."

Edward nods and looks back to her. "Maybe we can find you an after school sports team to join. What kind of sports do you like best?"

"Soccer is cool, but I love baseball, too!" Kassie grins.

"Would you like to play, too, Princess?"

"Yes, Daddy," Cordie says clearly happy.

As my eyes land on Edward, I see that he seems to be happy with her answer.

"Have you two made any other friends?" he asks.

They both shake their heads, and I move a little closer to him. "Nothing to worry about. I will fill you in later or tomorrow night."

Edward gives me a curt nod. "How has school been going for you?" he asks me.

"It's great. I love the teaching environment, and I especially love all the students." I tell him with a smile on my face. "How about you, how are things at work?" I ask.

"Work is good, no big complaints. The markets are up, but I guess you know that because of the game you and Kassie play."

I nod and he smiles.

The rest of dinner is spent with all four of us chatting as we eat. We all help clean up and then wash the dishes. Cordie and Kassie then go and get a board game for us to play.

"That's three games to Miss Swan," I say jumping up and down.

"You're worse than the children," Edward huffs.

"And you're a sore loser," I all but cackle.

Edward sticks his tongue out at me, but I just grin happily at him.

"Another game?" he asks.

I look at my watch seeing that it almost nine, so I shake my head. "We have school tomorrow."

"Fine; but a rematch tomorrow night, or maybe a card game?" he suggests raising his brow. The way he said it and did that, tells me that he is planning on playing a game just between the two of us. It sounds like a good time to me; it will be easier to gloat when I wipe up the floor with him.

"Sure," I say holding out my hand which he shakes.

"Okay, come on girls, let's get changed. I need to get Kassie home and ready for bed."

~PP~

Edward again picks Kassie and me up, to drive us to school. As we are going shopping after school today, I chose to leave my car at home. I only packed a small amount of clothes to bring with us, hoping I could pick up something new for Kassie and me to wear to Colton's party. I did, however, pack the electric roaster pan for the meatballs for Colton's party.

"Don't be going through my bags and trying on my clothes," I tell him cheekily before getting out at the school.

"I'll try to stop myself," he mutters back to me.

"Still upset about losing?" I ask with a giggle.

"We'll see who's laughing tonight," he retorts with a grin.

"It'll be me," I say cockily.

"If you say so, Swan. Have a good day, girls; some of us have to work."

I laugh and wave as I walk the girls inside the school.

The girls again spend their breaks with each other, and again, it seems that only Colton plays with them. I pay more attention this time, and I can see that it's both girls who seclude themselves. Anytime someone approaches them to play, they shake their heads at them. A part of me knows Emmett may be right, and this may be happening because this is new to them. It's as if they are trying to make up for lost time. However, another part of me is worried that if they exclude the other children now, it'll be harder for them to make friends later on.

By the end of the day, I feel tired and a little stressed.

"How was today?" Edward asks as we walk to the car.

"It was good," I answer, but he hums.

"We can talk about what's worrying you tonight once the girls are in bed," he suggests.

"That would be good," I tell him, happy that I will have someone to share my worry with.

We arrive at the shopping mall and I show Edward where we normally shop.

"Kassie, you need three more school outfits and something for tomorrow." My eyes move to Cordie. "And, DeeDee, can you pick out some clothes, too? I would love to buy you some school clothes," I tell her.

Cordie looks a little unsure but Kassie quickly distracts her. "Yes, we can get some clothes that are the same, and this way we can play without ruining our fancy clothes."

Kassie takes Cordie's hand and pulls her away with her.

"If you buy her clothes, then I would like to buy Kassie something for the ball in October," Edward says.

I give him a nod, knowing that is only fair.

Kassie and Cordie again surprise me; one would pick up a top and the other a bottom that went with the top.

"Are these two okay?" the girls ask, and I nod at them.

"Cordie, would you like to pick out some more clothes for school?" Edward asks shyly, making her look at him.

"Don't you like what I have be wearing?" she asks, and Edward pulls on his hair.

I kneel down a little. "DeeDee, your clothes are very nice and pretty. What your dad means is this way the clothes are just for school, and it won't matter if you get paint, grass stains, or dirt on them."

Cordie seems to bite her lip a little. "But this is mainly about you being comfortable."

She nods and then tilts her head. "Can I get a few more, just to see? " She turns and looks at Kassie and then back at us. "I would like to play some of the games Kassie likes, too; we've only been playing my games so far."

"I don't mind, Cordie, I love just spending time with you, and I will always pick you." Kassie tells her and then hugs her.

My eyes go to Kassie and I sigh a little. I guess their lack of playing with others may have more to do with Cordie not liking a lot of people around her.

Cordie picks out three more outfits, much to Edward's delight.

We run by the grocery store so that I can get the supplies for making the triple batch of meatballs for Colton's party tomorrow. Edward just shakes his head at me when I don't buy any beef for the meatballs. He doesn't say anything, because Kassie is busy telling both Cordie and him how great they are, and how much they will love them.

We arrive back at Edward's, and carry in our things.

"Can Kassie share my room with me?" Cordie asks, looking at both Edward and me.

Edward looks at me and I nod.

"Yes, but you have to go to sleep at bedtime," Edward tells them.

"That means, no staying up all night talking or playing around," I add.

"Yay!" they yell clapping their hands not taking note of what either of us said.

"Princess, take CeeCee and her bag to your room." Cordie nods and they walk off together.

"Come with me, and I'll take you to your room," Edward tells me.

I walk with Edward through his huge house. "Do you have a map, in case I get lost?"

Edward just looks at me, but I look right back at him.

"I can get to the playroom and the kitchen but …" I wave my hand making him chuckle.

"I'll walk you to your room tonight, so you don't get lost."

I place my bag in the room and look at Edward. "Ready to do some cooking with me?"

Edward just grins and nods. "Definitely, BeeBee."

I give him an arched brow look and he smirks. "What … the girls have nicknames, now you do too," he chuckles.

~PP~

"I say we both do a little of everything," I tell him as I wash my hands.

"I agree," Edward says. I move to the chopping board, and begin to chop vegetables for our omelets. I can see out of the corner of my eye that he is trying to speed up so that his vegetables are chopped before mine.

As I chop a little faster to keep up with him, I hear him let out a little chuckle. "You really like turning things into a competition don't you?"

"No, but are you trying to?"

"No, I'm not," he says but still chops a little faster.

"Be careful, speedy, you might cut your fingers," I taunt as I easily keep up with him.

Once the vegetables are ready, Edward brings out two pans so we both make omelets at the same time. At least he knows enough to let them cook slowly, so they are done properly and aren't rubbery on the outside and raw on the inside.

As we plate up the food, he grins at me. "This was fun," he exclaims and I nod.

"Coming with me to get our girls?" I ask and he nods back at me.

~PP~

We eat dinner together again, but somehow it feels less odd, and more like a relaxed, laid back family dinner.

The girls opt out of playing a game, and instead ask to watch a movie. It's almost half past nine when we walk them to Cordie's room. They get changed and we tuck them each into a side of the big double bed. They pick out a book that has twenty pages, so I read half and Edward reads the other half. We give both girls hugs and kisses before turning off the overhead light and leaving the bathroom door ajar with the nightlight on.

When they are tucked in, we head back downstairs.

"Are you going to tell what has you so worried? Is it something about school?"

I sigh closing my eyes and look at Edward. "Emmett doesn't think we need to worry. I do a little because I have noticed that they—Cordie and Kassie—only play with each other and Colton. When other kids come over to play, they seem to decline their offers, or tell the other kids 'no' about joining them."

Edward hums a little.

"Emmett seems to think this is new to them, almost like a new toy, and they don't want to share right now. He thinks as time goes by they'll branch out and play with other kids. I just worry that they'll push the others away too much and it'll be harder for them to make friends later on." I stop taking a deep breath. "I have also noticed that Cordie doesn't like large groups at all and prefers to play with only Kassie and Colton. She doesn't really interact with her classmates much unless she has to."

Edward pinches the bridge of his nose. "I know this about her; she didn't make any real friends when she was at kindergarten. I just didn't know how to help her; I still don't to be truthful. I was hoping by moving her to a larger school, she would learn to be less shy and unsure."

I place my hand over his that is resting on his knee. "We can help, and Kassie's so outgoing, I am sure she'll help Cordie just as Cordie will help her in other ways."

Edward turns his hand and clasps mine. "This feels like it's going okay then?"

"Yeah, I think it is. Now, are you ready to lose some card games to me?' Edward slightly chuckles. "So, Miss Swan, likes to play adult card games, huh?"

I nod at him, and he moves away from me. "Poker?" he asks as he picks up a deck of cards and a chip caddy.

"I love poker," I say with a smirk.

"I say we start with three grand each," Edward says doling out chips. "We will play the best three out of five games."

I nod in agreement, because it is fake money, and betting high will make us run out of chips fast. He shuffles the cards and offers me the cut.

The best out of three games turns into the best out of five all the way up to fifteen, with Edward winning eight to my seven. I made him promise to play Monopoly next; I always win that.

He shows me to my room, and I fastly fall asleep on the super comfortable bed.

~P.P~

I yawn as I wake up, feeling more refreshed than ever before. "This bed has to come home with me," I mumble pulling the pillow closer and cuddling it.

I lay there until I hear the tell-tale sign that the girls are awake. Getting up, I sleepily walk out of the room and head straight for the kitchen.

"Morning," Edward says. I wave a little heading to the counter to make myself a coffee.

"Teddy, when does the party start?" Kassie asks in an excited tone.

"Not until two, so you still have …" Edward trails off as he looks at his watch, "just over five hours."

"So, can we go someplace and do something fun then?" she carries on.

"Where would you like to go?"

Kassie shrugs at him.

"Somewhere fun," Cordie adds.

"Well, that narrows it down," he chuckles at them.

"What do you like to do?" he asks as his eyes fall on me.

"I like baseball cages, and Chuck E Cheese," Kassie answers while jumping up and down in one spot.

"What's Chuck E Cheese?" Cordie asks making Kassie stop instantly and look at her with wide eyes.

"It's only the best place, ever. They have pizza, and my mom always gets a salad, but the best part is all the games. They have so many games! It is so much fun. Teddy, Mom, can we go, Cordie needs to see it, too?"

The girls just smile at us. "Please?" Cordie adds.

Edward looks at me and I nod. "It should be okay, but both of you need to wear clothes that can get dirty. The place is very busy at times, especially on the weekends, and spills happen," I say.

"Yeah, this is going to be so much fun!" Cordie says and Edward smiles.

"You girls can play for a bit; I need to get the meatballs made, and put into the roaster on low to cook for Colton's party," I say.

I help Edward clean up after breakfast, and then get out all the ingredients to make the meatballs and put them on the counter. "Are you going to help me make these?" I ask Edward as he gives me an odd look.

"I'd be delighted to, BeeBee," he says. "This is chicken and pork. Are you planning to make meatballs out of this, don't you let Kassie at least eat beef?" Edward questions me and I smile at him.

"Yeah, I allow Kassie to eat beef, and lamb, too, but I try to limit it to once or twice a month. Besides have a little faith in me. These meatballs are the bomb, and you will love them."

"Time will tell," he says, but starts to dice the garlic and onions I give to him.

By the time we are finished there are around fifty meatballs, slowly cooking in my own sauce that I brought. I set the electric roaster to cook at a low temperature and look at Edward. "There, that is done, and they need to cook for the next three hours. Chuck E Cheese opens in about fifteen minutes. How about we get changed, and head over there? We can eat lunch while we are there, and play games. As long as we are back here by twelve-thirty, we'll have time to get ready. I will also need to bump up the temperature and cook them on high for about thirty minutes at that point."

"Sounds good to me, BeeBee."

I find my way back to the room I stayed in. I put on a pair of jeans, and a t-shirt. Once I am ready, I make my way to the girls' room.

"Hi," I say walking in and my eyes go to Edward who is dressed in jeans, a t-shirt with a short sleeved button up shirt open over it.

"Hi," he says as he carries on putting Kassie's hair up. "She asked; I hope you don't mind?"

I shake my head at him. "Nope," I smile seeing that he has done a good job.

I look both girls over seeing that Cordie and Kassie are wearing the same clothes just in different colors. Cordie is dressed in white and pink, and Kassie is dressed in blue and red.

"You two look great."

As everyone is ready, we make our way to Chuck E Cheese. We order our lunch but ask that it not be cooked for at least forty-five minutes and end up buying sixty dollars in tokens. We split the cost evenly and make our way in to find a table to set our number on for our food.

"I think we should take turns choosing what we do first?" Edward says, and the girls nod. I can't help but smile as Cordie's eyes are huge and the look of happiness is shining on her face.

"Can we play the dancing game first?" the girls ask together.

"Of course," I say with a smirk.

We make our way over seeing that both sides of the game are free.

"Can it be Kassie and me against you and BeeBerry?" Cordie asks.

Edward just looks at me and I smile.

"You know it may be better if one of you go with me and another with Bella?" he suggests.

They just shake their heads at him. "No, Teddy, we want to go together. You can go with my mom next," Kassie says.

"Can they go first, so we can watch?" Cordie asks Kassie, who nods at her.

"You guys go first, so Cordie can see how it works," Kassie states.

"I'm game if you are" Edward just smirks at me.

"Let's go then," I say with a very confident smirk.

The girls pick out the song as Edward and I take off our shoes and stand on the lighted dance floor sections.

The girls select the song 'Safety Dance' and it starts to play. I don't know this song, but I'm still able to do pretty well. The game has us do several things, and the better we do them the more the tasks increase. I'm able to keep up with the dance moves, and the game turns me to face Edward who seems to be keeping up just as well as I am.

The music comes to an end and I watch our points tally up. "Yes!" I cheer and jump up and down. I just beat Edward by two-hundred points.

"I would say a rematch but I think it's the girls' turn," Edward says.

Edward and I watch the girls dance and again I am surprised that their movements almost match perfectly. At the end of their song they both score the same points.

"Wow!" I cheer clapping for them. "I think you two should take dance lessons, you're both so talented."

"Can we do that?" Cordie asks wide-eyed clearly liking the idea.

"If that's what you want, we can look for classes," Edward answers. "CeeCee, is that something you would like to do with Cordie?" Edward asks as he looks at her.

"Sure, I like dancing, but soccer and baseball are still my favorites," she says.

Edward and I walk around the room, letting the girls play different games.

"Okay, girls, it's time to eat our food. After we eat we can play for about another half an hour before we have to go," I say.

"Okay, Mom," Kassie calls.

"Girls, go with Bella to wash your hands, and I'll get our drinks when I'm done."

The girls and I head to the women's restroom, as Edward makes his way to the men's.

By the time we are done, he is at the table with our food, and our cups are full. He put the girls' drinks across from us, already knowing they will want to sit together. We only ordered one cheese pizza since we are going to have a late lunch at Colton's party. Our meal is quiet, and the girls eat fast, so they can play more games.

We clean up our mess and wash our hands again before returning to play more games. It's almost time to go and Cordie gets excited.

"Oh, Kassie, look they have basketball," Cordie says and starts to move to the machine.

We all follow and put some tokens in the machine.

"Should I go first?" Edward asks spinning one of the balls on his finger.

I move my hands showing him that yes he can. I watch as he gets ten out of ten baskets.

"Think you can beat that?" he asks and I roll my eyes.

I shrug moving to take the ball. I end up only getting eight baskets much to Edward's delight.

I just huff at him as I move so Kassie can take her turn. Kassie gets five baskets and Cordie manages three. Edward and I clap and cheer for both girls equally.

I look at my watch and see that it almost noon. "Okay, it is time to go. I need to raise the temperature on the meatballs and change into something that smells less like pizza and game-room."

The girls laugh, and Edward and I take them and their coupons to the counter. All together we managed to gather fourteen hundred tickets. They decide to put their tickets on a card and save to get something at another time. As we leave, they check our stamps, to make sure we are only taking our own children, and we head out.

Back at Edward's house, I turn up the heat on the meatballs and send the girls to freshen up and change. I head to the room I stayed in and take a quick shower, without washing my hair. I pull on a light blue and white sun dress, and quickly french braid my hair.

Walking back to the girls' room, I see they are both changed. They are again wearing matching outfits, but this time Cordie is wearing a darker pink, and Kassie is wearing lime green.

"I love your cute outfits, girls, what would you like to take for just in case, Kassie?" I ask.

"Colton said he has a pool, so I thought a t-shirt and shorts, but Teddy said I can have one of Cordie's swimming suits."

I look at Edward who again is pulling at his hair.

"You're going to go bald if you keep doing that," I tell him, "and thank you."

Edward just nods at me. "Sorry if I jumped the gun, I didn't even think about Alice's pool until Cordie talked about it."

"No, it's okay," I say, happy that Kassie will have a suit to use.

As Edward pulls up to Alice's, I realize that there are more people than just Colton's school friends at the party.

"Edward, has Alice invited everybody in Chicago?" I mutter and he only chuckles in response.


A/N: So how do you think the party will go? Thanks to everyone for the wonderful response so far to this story. Nikky and I are very proud of the story-lines we come up with, and are totally honored to have the ability to evoke such emotion in so many of you. Thank you for reading and reviewing. See you next week, with another chapter.